The Music of the Night
by GrandMoffAmbrius
Summary: Nick returns from a shopping trip and walks on Greg giving a special little preformance for someone special.


Disclaimer: I do not own anything of CSI. If I did, then things would be a whole lot different.

A/N: Thanks to my Beta Seshat3. And my wonderful thanks to Marifw for the help with the Norwegian. Since the translations were not that long, I put them right next to the Norwegian text. Both of the lullabies that Greg sings are actual Norwegian lullabies that Marifw suggested to me. This is another one-shot that popped into my head while I was working on my other stories. The title for this story comes from the song in Andrew Lloyd Webber's _The Phantom of the Opera_.

The Music of the Night

The front door of the Sanders-Stokes home opened and a very exhausted looking Nick Stokes crossed the threshold, his hands holding onto the several heavy grocery bags as he closed the door with his foot. As he put the bags down to hang-up his jacked, Nick was glad that he finally was home.

"The people in this city get crazier everyday," he said as he placed his keys in the small dish on the end-table by the door.

He had volunteered to do the shopping and with the crazy drivers on the road and the seemingly lost looking shoppers, the level three CSI was glad that he didn't have to deal with the madness of the outside world for a while. Instead, he woud only have to deal with the unique madness that he dealt with every single day. But the Texan would not have it any other way since most of that madness came from the man Nick loved.

Ever since he and Greg began seeing each other, Nick was frequently exposed to the unusual and odd taste the younger man liked. As they became closer, Nick found that these little oddities made him smile more than cringe and with Greg; there was no end to them. And as of three weeks ago, their lives became even madder for that was when they became the parents of a beautiful five month old baby boy that they named Oliver Johann Sanders-Stokes. Oliver for Nick's grandpa and Johann for Greg's Papa Olaf.

As he walked into the living room towards the kitchen, Nick smiled at the sight of the very messy room. A baby swing was set-up in the middle next to the large spread out blanket that had several stuffed animals on it. The floor was covered with scattered baby toys. A play pen was also set up next to the couch. On the table were the gifts that they had received from their family and friends at work.

Heading into the kitchen, Nick saw the many empty baby bottles next to the sink and the pile of dirty dishes in the sink that had not been washed yet. He chuckled as he began to put away the groceries. Ever since they had brought Oliver home, they just did not have the time to keep up with the household chores. Oliver seemed to take up all of their free time. Both Irene and Jillian had offered to stay for a couple of weeks to help them instead of returning home after they had come to see their new grandchild but both Nick and Greg declined their offers. They were going to take the offered paternity leave and Catherine's mother had offered to come over and babysit for the two of them when they went back to work. The amount of support they were getting from their teammates and family was beyond anything they could have expected.

To be honest, the only thing that worried Nick when they brought Oliver home was Greg. Even though they had talked about having a family of their own one day, Greg always seemed hesitant on actually having a child. Being an only child and the youngest of several cousins, Greg never had much interaction with babies and taking care of them. While Nick had no trouble taking to Oliver right away when they finally got him, Greg seemed tentative to even hold the little guy for the first couple of days. But lately, Greg was starting to become more comfortable around their new son. He had in-fact been the one to solve one of the issues that came with same-sex couples raising a child. That was the question of what was their son going to call them? Greg had that all figured when they took Oliver out for his first shopping trip, Nick was going to be Daddy and he was going to be Pappa. Greg chose the title of Pappa because it was the Norwegian version of Daddy. Of course he had decided that right in the middle of the cereal aisle and said it loud enough that everyone in the aisle heard him as well. He still could vividly recall the amused looks that several of the women in the aisle gave them.

It was after he put the milk away and closed the refrigerator door that Nick noticed how quiet the house was. The house was hardly ever quit now that they had a child to take of. With his parental instincts starting to kick-in, Nick decided to look through the house. Deciding to start with their bedroom first, he started down the hall trying his best not to worry.

They still had to finish painting and decorating the nursery and Nick personally did not feel alright having Oliver in a different room yet. So they had set up the crib and changing table in their room for the time being. They also had the rocker that Jillian had given them in there as well, next to their bed by the crib. With Oliver being in the same room as them for the time being, it made it easier for them to get up to take care of Oliver during the night. Seeing their bedroom door opened Nick could hear soft noises coming from inside. As he poked his head in, Nick was surprised at what he saw.

Greg was sitting in the rocker holding Oliver in his arms. The child was awake and making little noises as Greg softy tickled his feet. When Greg wiggled his finger to the five month old, the little hand reached out and grab onto it. Greg smiled and brought the fist up to place a gentle kiss on the clenched fingers. Shifting slightly, he brought the child closer to his chest and began to softly sing.

"Når Trollmor har lagt sine elleve små troll, og bundet dem fast i halen. Så synger hun sakte for elleve små troll, de vakreste ord hun kjenner Ho aj aj aj aj buff. Ho aj aj aj aj buff. Ho aj aj aj aj buff buff!  
Ho aj aj aj aj buff." (When trollmother has laid down her eleven little trolls, and tied their tails together. Then she slowly sings for eleven little trolls, the most beautiful word she knows.)

"That's cute G," Nick said from the door way.

Greg smiled when he looked-up, holding Oliver up to Nick and waving the baby's free hand towards the man in the doorway. "Hi Daddy."

"Hi there Little Fella," Nick answered back along with a kiss on Oliver's forehead when he made his way over from the doorway, "Were we good for Pappa?"

"Your son was his usual perfectly spoiled little self," Greg answered as he shifted Oliver's position in his arms.

"What do you mean _my_ son?" Nick asked with a perplexed look as he took a seat on their bed.

"Well," Greg began, "when he's being all fussy and stubborn, he is your son."

"And when exactly is he _your_ son may I ask?"

Greg smiled. "When he's like this, quiet and calm."

Nick stared down at Greg and shook his head. "I think not G. Oliver is _your_ son when he's being a handful and fussy."

"If you say so," Greg loftily retorted which just caused Nick to shake his head.

"But I think he's a little too young for us to decide whose son he is yet," Nick replied, "when he causes a baking soda volcano to blow-up in the kitchen and it makes a big mess, then we'll know he's your son."

"And when he declares he wants to be a professional square dancer," Greg shuddered at the idea, "then I'll know that he's yours and I'll no longer have a son."

Nick could not help himself but laugh at Greg's mock fear. "You'll no longer have a son?"

"Well, I suppose I'll come to terms with reality of the situation someday," Greg answered.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Nick said amiably.

The two of them sat for several minutes, the only sounds came from Oliver as Greg continued to rock him.

"So what was that you were singing to him G?"

"A lullaby that Nana used to sing to me. It's called Trollmors voggesang," Greg answered as he reached for the bottle on the changing table. When he saw the confused look on his partner's face, Greg smiled, "Trollmother's lullaby," he clarified for his partner.

"It was cute."

"Thanks. I had planned on putting on one of my Manson CDs to help get him to sleep-"

"Please tell me you're joking," Nick interrupted.

"I figured it would be best to introduce him to it now so he can-,"

"There will be no introduction to Marilyn Manson till he's eighteen." Nick stated with stern authority.

Before Greg could protest Oliver let out soft giggle and then a yawn before letting go of his Pappa's finger.

"Looks like we're ready to fall asleep," Greg said as they saw Oliver bring his little fist up to his mouth as he yawned again.

"Got any other lullabies for us?" Nick asked.

Greg just looked down at their son and began to sing.

"So ro Oliver nå er dagen over. (Calm down Oliver, the day is now over.)  
Alle barn i dette land ligger nå og sover. (All children in this country are now asleep.)  
So ro, lett på tå, sov min vesle pode. (Calm down, walk lightly, sleep my little child.)  
Reven sover også nå med halen under hodet." (The fox is also sleeping now, with its tail under its head.)

By the time Greg finished the lullaby, Oliver had closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Getting up from their bed, Nick walked over to the rocker and hunched down next to Greg. Wrapping his arm around his shoulder, the two of them gazed down at the sleeping infant in Greg's arms. With his other hand, Nick began to softly run his fingers through the brown tufts of Oliver's hair. Greg leaned in and placed a small kiss on Nick's cheek which caused the Texan to look over to man he planned on raising a family and spend the rest of his life with. As they looked into each other's eyes, they both knew that they were going to be ok.

"Can I hold him?" Nick asked softly.

"Sure," Greg replied and he held out his arms to Nick, "try not to wake him."

Nick took the sleeping bundle from Greg carefully making sure not to wake Oliver as he stood-up from beside the rocker. Gently, Nick started to rock Oliver. Greg came up beside him and placed his chin on the broad shoulder. They continued to gaze at Oliver after Nick stopped the motion. Just as they were about to lay Oliver down in the crib, he opened his eyes and looked up to his two daddies with his large hazel colored eyes.

"Hey, Little Fella," Nick softly whispered.

Oliver simply looked up at his Daddy and without warning, spat-up a large amount of spit and milk all over Nick's face and shirt and made a soft coo before closing his eyes and returning to sleep.

"He is without a doubt, _your_ son," Nick said deadpan as he turned to Greg.

Greg just smiled as he handed Nick the drool rag and simply replied, "And he's just as cute as me too."

-Author's Note-

I hope you all enjoyed this one. I had real fun righting the ending. Again I love it when you leave your reviews and let me know what you think. I have said that they can be some of the best motivation I can get to help me though my periods of writer's block.

I'm also glad to see that many of you have enjoyed the new chapter of _California Here We Come_ that I put-up. I was surprised to see that only one person had suggested they might know who the mystery women in the last chapter of California might be. I've already began work on the next chapter and I think you'll find it fun and enjoy the surprise I have in store for Nick and Greg.

Turing to my Severus-Harry story _Enigma_, I've had to resend my finished chapter again to my Beta because the e-mail didn't go through the first time. It may be a while till I get them back, edited and put up. It just depends on how often I can get on line during the summer of I don't decide to take summer classes. If I do, then I'll be able to get on line four days a week from June through July. But never fear, I'll get them up for you.

Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon. And till next time, I thank you all.


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